Section:GDN 1N PaGe:1 Edition Date:190906 Edition:01 Zone:S Sent at 5/9/2019 21:03 cYanmaGentaYellowbl
Jessica Elgot and Peter WalkerBoris Johnson was dealt an extraordi-
nary blow to his premiership yesterday
when his brother Jo announced he
was quitting the cabinet , citing an
“unresolvable tension” between fam-
ily loyalty and the national interest.
The dramatic move by the younger
Johnson, who had only recently
returned to government, sent shock-
waves through the Conservative party
and appeared to severely rattle the
prime minister as he visited a police
training academy.
The speech by Boris Johnson in
West Yorkshire was to have marked the
start of a Conservative general elec-
tion campaign – a schedule scuppered
by Labour overnight. The prime min-
ister pledged he would rather “die in
a ditch” than bow to the demands of
the no-deal bill passed by the House of
Commons and request a further exten-
sion to Brexit.
However, Downing Street appeared
to be increasingly losing control of the
timetable as Johnson was unable to
articulate how he would react should
Labour fail to back an election again
on Monday, in a rambling and occa-
sionally incoherent speech delivered
almost an hour late.
Asked about the departure of his
brother, the prime minister said:
“Look, people disagree about the
EU. The way to unite the country, I’m
afraid, is to get this thing done. That
is the reality.”
Jo Johnson had only recently
returned to government as a businessminister with a brief that saw him
attend his brother’s cabinet – after
quitting a diff erent frontbench role
earlier this year in order to back a sec-
ond referendum.
His return had raised eyebrows in
Westminster after Boris Johnson was
confi rmed as prime minister in July,
but Jo Johnson has now suggested he
could no longer reconcile his diff er-
ences with his brother over Brexit – just
days after 21 Tory MPs lost the whip for
backing moves to stop no deal.
In a statement on Twitter , JoJohnson said it had been an honour
to represent Orpington for nine years
and to serve as a minister under three
prime ministers. “In recent weeks
I’ve been torn between family loy-
alty and the national interest – it’s
an un resolvable tension and time for
others to take on my roles as MP & m in-
ister. #overand out,” he tweeted.
The resignation looks set to become
a major attack line for Labour. “Boris
Johnson poses such a threat that even
his own brother doesn’t trust him,” the
shadow education secretary, Angela
Rayner, said.
His departure also came amid a
number of resignations from Con-
servative MPs, who cited the divisions
in the party. Caroline Spelman, theformer party chairman who rebelled
against the government to back the bill
to prevent a no-deal Brexit on Wednes-
day, said she would leave parliament
because “I can’t be pro no-deal when
I’ve seen the predictions about what
will happen to jobs.”
Nick Hurd, the Northern Ireland
minister, also said he would not
stand again, saying politics “is now
dominated by the ongoing
division over Brexit ”.- Boris Johnson
dealt severe blow by
brother’s departure
- Minister blames
‘unresolvable
tension’ fordecision
(^2)
▲ Jo Johnson in London yesterday
after announcing his resignation from
the cabinet of his brother Boris, left
PHOTOGRAPH: PETER MACDIARMID/LNP
I quit. Jo Johnson puts
country before family
‘People disagree over
the EU. The way to
unite the country is to
get this thing done’
Friday
6 September 2019
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